Hold Onto This Lullaby
by adorbskatic
Summary: Based on the prompt: KB sings "safe and sound" by Taylor Swift to Caskett's upset baby so they can fall asleep one night & RC hears it on the baby monitor and cries bc he used to sing it to KB when she used to get upset.


A/N: Huge thanks to Kiara (kiarashouldbewriting) and Alex (ivyandtwines/castlefanfics) for beta-ing, you guys both rock x

Prompt: KB sings "safe and sound" by Taylor Swift to Caskett's upset baby so they can fall asleep one night & RC hears it on the baby monitor and cries bc he used to sing it to KB when she used to get upset

* * *

Rick rouses Kate from sleep at the sound of James crying over the monitor.

"Honey," he mumbles, nudging her gently. "It's your turn."

Kate groans, rubbing her hand over her face as she rolls over in bed, reaching for her phone to check the time. The screen flashes 3:47; _right on schedule,_ she thinks to herself as she rolls out of bed for the third time that night, throwing on her robe as she goes to check on their son.

"I'll be back in a bit, go back to sleep, babe." she whispers to Rick as she leaves the room. James hasn't been sleeping through the night for weeks now, he seems to have decided that falling asleep just long enough to wake up his parents up with his screaming was a fun game to play.

It was Kate's turn to try to soothe him back to sleep – not that she really minded. Rick had offered the last two nights, tried to help her catch up on the sleep she was already so behind on, but his attempts had been unsuccessful, leaving him up with James for the remainder of the night. So Kate was up.

They'd tried everything – rocking him, leaving him to cry it out, driving through the streets of New York – but it hurt her to see that nothing seemed to calm their six month old son for more than a few moments at a time.

She smiles at her son as she walks quietly into his room, watches him as he grips the edge of his crib and stares at her, and she can see him calming slightly at her presence.

"Hi, sweetie," she murmurs to him as she takes him from his crib. "How about we try getting some sleep?" She receives nothing but a whine in response and she sighs, pulling him closer to her as she begins to pace around the room.

It's times like these that she misses her mother the most. The ache, the need to see her, has always been there, but in the past six months it's become a constant throb, always sitting in the back of her mind, just waiting to be brought back to the forefront. She wishes she could just call her, ask her what she had done when Kate was restless or colicky, but she's gone and Kate's left to figure it out without her.

She'd called her father a few nights' prior, had practically begged him for tips when everything she and Rick had tried seemed to have failed, but he hadn't been of much help. He'd simply told her that it had always been Johanna who had calmed her down.

Over the weeks, Rick had suggested various methods that had worked with Alexis – on the rare times that she had refused to sleep – but James had seemed immune to them all, continuing to wail until he was cradled in the warmth of his mother's arms.

Tonight, though, he continues to whine, just stares up at Kate, his blue eyes wide and lips trembling, ignoring her pleas for silence as she paces the room, rocking him in her arms as she goes.

She tries to be mad, tries to be upset with him, but it's not his fault. It's not like he knows any better, so she just holds onto him a little bit tighter as she rocks him.

"How about a lullaby, baby?" It's something they've tried a few times before, although she's found it to be a very hit or miss attempt. At this point, she's willing to at least try. "Would you like me to sing the song Daddy used to sing to me when I was sad?"

He just watches her, probably has no idea what she's saying to him, but she'll take his lack of screams as a yes. She begins to sing, hoping that her voice may calm him into a slumber in the same way that it would calm her back when she and rick had first got together.

 _Just close your eyes_

 _The sun is going down_

 _You'll be all right_

 _No one can hurt you now_

 _Come morning light_

 _You and I'll be safe and sound_

Her voice sounds foreign to her ears. She's never been the one to sing this song. Honestly, she'd never one to really care for it, but when she had still been dealing with her PTSD – the first round of it at least – Rick would sing the lyrics to her when she was in a daze. Somehow it would pull her back to him, and calm her. Kate just hoped that it would have the same effect on their son.

* * *

The song seems to works because after ten minutes of her singing the lyrics to him she finally finds him peacefully asleep in her arms.

She's startled by the knock at the door minutes later, looks up to see her husband standing there, a watery smile on his face and tears swimming in his eyes.

"Hey," Kate whispers, trying not to wake James, as he lies in her arms. "Everything okay?"

Rick nods, walking over to her and taking James from her arms, placing him gently into his crib, careful not to rouse him. He walks back to Kate, smiles as he crouches down in front of her, taking her face in his hands and pressing a chaste kiss to her mouth, lingering just long enough for her to begin to deepen it before he pulls away, resting his forehead against hers and smiling.

"Everything's fine," he breathes, his eyes still shiny. "It's just the song you chose to sing."

She hums in response. "It always helped whenever you sang it to me, so I thought maybe it would help him as well."

"Seems like it did," he mumbles, leaning in to kiss her again. "Now let's go back to sleep, babe."

* * *

A/N 2: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave any prompts in the review section or send me a message on tumblr :)


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